Can Limonene Help Cure Breast Cancer?

Dr. Mitch Earleywine, the author of Understanding Marijuana and The Parents’ Guide to Marijuana, dishes on concentrates, terpenes, Big Pharma and dosage. This month, he answers the question—”Can Limonene Help Cure Breast Cancer?”—plus, more!

Do you think flower will eventually go the way of willow bark? It seems like everyone has concentrates now.

— Lilly Dahlia

Hi Lilly D.,

Flowers have lost some market share, but they will never disappear. I heard Hendrix on mainstream radio. People still read The Odyssey. There will always be room for the classics. Concentrates might stem from prohibition, the same way alcohol prohibition undermined beer production. But as the laws loosen up, don’t be surprised to see flowers grow wild!

I heard that limonene helped cure breast cancer. What strains have it?

— Olive Oyl

Hey Olive,

Two grams per day of limonene had a modest, positive impact on folks with breast cancer, but it was hardly a cure. Any citrus-scented strain (Super Lemon Haze, Lemon Sour Diesel, Tangie) contains 1 to 2 percent of the terpene—so to get two grams, you’d need at least 100 grams of the relevant buds. Capsules that contain limonene are available for much cheaper than the price you’d pay for almost a quarter-pound of dank nugs per week.

Lemon Skunk (Photo by Justin Cannabis/High Times)

My colleague doesn’t believe that Big Pharma fights legalization. Is this just a conspiracy theory?

— Jessie Ventura

Yo Jessie,

Drug companies have donated to anti-legalization campaigns in individual state initiatives. Many also contribute to the Anti-Drug Coalition of America, which in turn funds anti-legalization efforts. This is more than just a conspiracy—it’s a movement.

I bought a tincture that says “300 mg of cannabinoids.” How do I know how much THC is in there?

— Matthew McConifused

Hey Matthew,

Unfortunately, you can’t know unless it’s printed somewhere else on the bottle. Combining THC and CBD into one measure makes it really hard to predict what a product will do. It’s a bit like mixing orange juice and vodka—the proportions really make a difference.